Deduplicated data processing rate control

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments for deduplicated data processing rate control using at least one processor device in a computing environment are provided. A plurality of workers is configured for parallel processing of deduplicated data entities in a plurality of chunks. The deduplicated data processing rate is regulated using a rate control mechanism. The rate control mechanism incorporates a debt/credit algorithm specifying which of the plurality of workers processing the deduplicated data entities must wait for each of a plurality of calculated required sleep times. The rate control mechanism is adapted to limit a data flow rate based on a penalty acquired during a last processing of one of the plurality of chunks in a retroactive manner, and further adapted to operate on at least one vector representation of at least one limit specification to accommodate a variety of available dimensions corresponding to the at least one limit specification.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to U.S. application Ser. No.12/539,066, entitled “SYNCHRONIZATION OF REPLICATED SEQUENTIAL ACCESSSTORAGE COMPONENTS,” having Attorney Docket No. TUC9-2009-0037-US1 filedconcurrently herewith and U.S. application Ser. No. ______, entitled“REPLICATION OF DEDUPLICATED DATA,” having Attorney Docket No.TUC9-2009-0047-US1, filed concurrently herewith; both of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to computers, and moreparticularly to apparatus, method and computer program productembodiments for deduplicated data processing rate control in a computingstorage environment.

2. Description of the Related Art

Data deduplication refers to the reduction and/or elimination ofredundant data. In a data deduplication process, duplicate copies ofdata are reduced or eliminated, leaving a minimal amount of redundantcopies, or a single copy of the data, respectively. Using deduplicationprocesses provides a variety of benefits, such as reduction of requiredstorage capacity and increased network bandwidth. Due to these and otherbenefits, deduplication has emerged in recent years as a highlyimportant technological field in computing storage systems. Challengesto providing deduplication functionality include aspects such asefficiently finding duplicated data patterns in typically large storagerepositories, and storing the data patterns in a deduplicatedstorage-efficient form.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Deduplication systems may externalize various logical data storageentities, such as files, data objects, backup images, data snapshots orvirtual tape cartridges. Moreover, there are further applications todeduplicated data transfer, and in general, data processing, which arelocal to a deduplicated storage system. It is often required that suchdata storage entities be electronically transferred (e.g., replicated)from their origin site to remote sites. Replicated data entities enhancefault tolerance abilities, disaster recovery, and availability of data.Such fault tolerance and high availability is increasingly demanded.Deduplicated data entities might become obsolete or fragmented overtime. This means that the deduplicated storage systems might need tomanipulate them, such as delete or compact (defragment) them torearrange the physical storage space on which they reside.

To enhance accessibility to data, disaster recovery, and fault tolerancecapabilities, it may be required that the various types of processing ofdeduplicated data entities residing in deduplicated storage systems mustbe able to control their data flow rate in order not to impact othermission critical procedures (e.g., backup, restore and recovery). Inaddition, pursuant to such a need, such systems may benefit from areduction in bandwidth consumption over the communication linesinterconnected between the described systems, thus providing anadditional motivation for such rate control. While a variety of ratelimitation approaches are currently available, these approaches areaccompanied by requirements negatively affecting factors such asefficiency and system compatibility as will be further described.

In view of the foregoing, a need exists for a mechanism providingdeduplicated data processing rate control in a manner enhancing systemefficiency and compatibility, among other factors. Accordingly, variousembodiments for deduplicated data processing rate control are provided.In one such embodiment, by way of example only, a method fordeduplicated data processing rate control using at least one processordevice in a computing environment is provided. A set of workers isconfigured for parallel processing of deduplicated data entities in anumber of chunks. The deduplicated data processing rate is regulatedusing a rate control mechanism. The rate control mechanism incorporatesa debt/credit algorithm specifying which of the set of workersprocessing the deduplicated data entities must wait for concurrentcalculated required sleep times. The rate control mechanism is adaptedto limit a data flow rate based on a penalty acquired during a lastprocessing of one of the plurality of chunks in a retroactive manner.The rate control mechanism is further adapted to operate on one or morevector representations of one or more limit specifications in order toaccommodate a variety of available dimensions corresponding to the limitspecifications.

In addition to the foregoing exemplary method embodiment, otherexemplary system and computer product embodiments are provided andsupply related advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the advantages of the invention will be readilyunderstood, a more particular description of the invention brieflydescribed above will be rendered by reference to specific embodimentsthat are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to beconsidered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be describedand explained with additional specificity and detail through the use ofthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computing environment in which aspectsof the present invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary portion of a deduplication system asillustrated in FIG. 1, previously, including a processor device;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary method for deduplicated data processingrate control;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary deduplicated data processing ratecontrol;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary multidimensional deduplicated dataprocessing rate control; and

FIG. 6 illustrates pseudo code for an exemplary method for deduplicateddata processing rate control.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Turning now to FIG. 1, exemplary architecture 10 of deduplicationsystems and related components in a computing storage environment isdepicted. Architecture 10 provides storage services to several backuphosts 26. Deduplicated data replication is provided between variousdeduplication system groups 12, 14, 16, and 18 as indicated by dashedlines 22 and 24. Each of groups 12, 14, 16, and 18 include one or morehosts 26, which are connected to a deduplication system 30 vianetworking components such as a switch 28 as indicated. Deduplicationsystems 30 are interconnected via networking components such as a router32, which provides internetwork connectivity between groups 12, 14, 16,and 18. A network 20 connects such deduplication systems 30 and routers32. Network 20 may, in one embodiment, include a wide area network(WAN). In other embodiments, network 20 may include local area networks(LANs), storage area networks (SANs), and other network topologies knownto the skilled artisan. While routers 32 and switches 28 are shown, theskilled artisan will also appreciate that additional and/or substitutenetworking components are contemplated.

In one embodiment, switch 28 is compliant with a fibre channel networkprotocol, making the switch 28 and interconnected components capable ofexecuting commands such as small computer systems interface (SCSI)commands. Such commands may be executed for a variety of storagedevices, again as the skilled artisan will appreciate, such as diskdrives, tape devices, solid state devices (SSDs), and the like. Whilethe architecture 10 provides one example of components that may beutilized to implement various facets of the present invention andclaimed subject matter, the skilled artisan will appreciate that othersuch architectures are contemplated.

An efficient deduplicated data processing rate control mechanismsatisfies the following considerations. First, the mechanism enablesrate control over multiple dimension limits simultaneously. In otherwords, rate control should be able to take into account multiple limitssimultaneously. Secondly, the mechanism enables rate control overvirtual dimension limits, and not necessarily physical measurements.This means that some of the limits that the rate control should considerare not physically measured but software figures of merit computedduring system operation. Third, the mechanism supports parallel and/ordistributed processing environments. Fourth, the operating environmentmay change online, i.e. limits can change dynamically based on systemoperation and/or external input. Finally, the mechanism should beindependent of storage systems layout, hardware specifications, andlatency and bandwidth considerations.

There are several approaches for data-flow rate control, which may beused to design and implement rate control mechanisms for deduplicationstorage systems. Mostly, these approaches were developed in the contextof computer networking domain, and are usually referred to as trafficshaping methods or data-flow rate limiting. In particular, trafficshaping is any method on a data stream of packets that imposesadditional delay on the data stream of packets such that they conform tosome predetermined constraint.

One classification of rate control methods is “collaborative methods”,in which the data load generated by a sender is modified in accordancewith congestion information returned from the receiver. However, such anapproach cannot be employed when trying to control the deduplicated dataprocessing rate at a single system (sender or receiver) on a standalonebasis, since each system has its own workload and critical proceduresrunning on it that add constraints to the data-flow rate control.Furthermore, these methods depend heavily on the specific properties ofthe network connection (or of the hardware in general), making themnon-compliant with other environments. This collaborative approach isopposed to self-limiting source control, which produces traffic (orload) that never exceeds some upper bound constraint.

Other approaches include the class of so-called “bucket” algorithms(e.g., leaky-bucket and token-bucket). They differ in that leaky bucketalgorithms impose hard limits on the data flow rate, whereas tokenbucket algorithms allow a certain amount of bursts while imposing limitson the average data flow rate. The bucket is an abstract containerholding aggregate traffic to process, represented as tokens ofpredetermined resolution (e.g., packets and byte chunks). When thealgorithm processes traffic, tokens are removed from the bucket. Thetokens are a direct transformation of the traffic. In other words, thereis a trivial function that translates the traffic processed to thenumber of tokens it represents. When there are no tokens in the bucket,a flow cannot transmit the packets. Thus, a flow can transmit traffic upto the peak burst rate if there are enough tokens present. In the leakyvariation, when packets arrive, they are placed as translated tokens inthe bucket. If the bucket is full, they are discarded. Traffic in thebucket is sent at a constant rate, equivalent to bandwidth of the holein the leaky bucket. These approaches guarantee rate limiting with hardlimits or average as stated, and are indeed considered standards.

The use of bucket algorithms in rate control mechanisms has accompanyinglimitations, however. For example, token bucket algorithms typicallyconsider a single type of token, and thus a single type of limit (e.g.packets/sec, Bytes/sec). Moreover, these algorithms require a directtranslation of the data processed chunks to tokens of predefinedresolution. This approach may not be workable in the context of datachunks stored in deduplicated efficient form, since the processingsystem cannot know the actual token physical penalty of a chunk until ithas already processed it. Trying to approximate a deduplicated datachunk's token translation may lead to negative effects in the ratecontrol. More efficient would be a mechanism that accommodates multipletypes of rate limits together with the ability to cope with deduplicateddata forms, not trivially translatable to direct physical tokens ormeasurements.

The illustrated embodiments provide a novel approach for deduplicateddata processing rate control, satisfying all of the considerations forefficient deduplicated rate control described previously. In one suchembodiment, mechanisms are optimized to control the data flow rate overmultiple and/or virtual dimension limits within a parallel applicationenvironment, accept online limits changes, and are independent of thededuplicated storage systems' layout, hardware or network specification.

Throughout the following description and claimed subject matter, thefollowing terminology, pertaining to the illustrated embodiments, isdescribed. A “worker” is intended to refer to the parallel entity of thededuplicated data processing procedure or algorithm, designed to processdeduplicated data entities or objects. The workers process thededuplicated data entity in “chunks.” Accordingly, a “chunk” is intendedto refer to a portion of the deduplicated data entity. In the event thatthe deduplicated data processing involves replication of thededuplicated data (or some other electronic data transfer), a singledata entity may include at least two peer workers processing the entity(one at each deduplication system, local and remote). In otherdeduplication data processing cases (e.g., deletion or defragmentation),single or multiple workers may be assigned to and process a single dataentity. The skilled artisan will appreciate that the configuration ofworkers assigned to a particular data entity or entities may varyaccording to a particular implementation.

As will be seen, following, each worker operational in one or morededuplication systems utilize mechanisms of the illustrated embodimentsto adjust their respective data flow processing according to the currentrate limits set by the mechanisms. The workers do so by reporting to themechanisms after each processing of a data chunk (whether incoming oroutgoing) and in place adjust themselves according to the correctfeedback from the mechanisms. This mutual feedback facilitates ratecontrol of a parallel/distributed processing environment, since all theworkers are processing in parallel and affect each other under thesemechanisms. Moreover, since the adjustments are done for every chunk,the workers quickly adapt to online change of rate limits.

The mechanisms of the illustrated embodiments regulate the deduplicateddata processing rate using a retroactive debt/credit algorithm, whichdictates when the worker running the process must wait and for how long.The debt/credit algorithm is retroactive in the sense that it limits thedata-flow rate based on the penalty (debt) acquired during the lastprocessing of a chunk. Retroactivity characteristics of the debt/creditalgorithm distinguishes the mechanisms of the illustrated embodimentsfrom other rate limit control mechanisms, often implemented in computernetworking domain, which limit or delay the processing of the currentchunk before it is actually processed. However, in deduplicated dataprocessing of any application, the actual processed segments penalty isusually not known in advance, due to the deduplicated form, which makesother rate limit control mechanisms inapplicable. In effect, thisattribute enables rate control over virtual dimension limits. Moreover,it separates the mechanism from being dependant on the physicalstructure, layout or hardware specification, since the rate iscontrolled in non-physical, indirect layer of measurement abstraction.

Turning now to FIG. 2, an exemplary portion 50 of a deduplication system30 as also seen in FIG. 1, previously, is illustrated. Portion 50 ofdeduplication 30 is operable in a computer environment as a portionthereof, in which mechanisms of the following illustrated embodimentsmay be implemented. It should be appreciated, however, that FIG. 2 isonly exemplary and is not intended to state or imply any limitation asto the particular architectures in which the exemplary aspects of thevarious embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thearchitecture depicted in FIG. 2 may be made without departing from thescope and spirit of the following description and claimed subjectmatter.

Deduplication system 30 includes a processor 52 and a memory 54, such asrandom access memory (RAM). The deduplication system 30 may beoperatively coupled to several components not illustrated for purposesof convenience, including a display, which presents images such aswindows to the user on a graphical user interface, a keyboard, mouse,printer, and the like. Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize that any combination of the above components, or any number ofdifferent components, peripherals, and other devices, may be used withthe deduplication system 30.

In the illustrated embodiment, the deduplication system 30 operatesunder control of an operating system (OS) 56 (e.g. z/OS, OS/2, LINUX,UNIX, WINDOWS, MAC OS) stored in the memory 54, and interfaces with theuser to accept inputs and commands and to present results. In oneembodiment of the present invention, the OS 56 facilitates rate controlmechanisms according to the present invention. To this end, OS 56includes a rate control module 66 which may be adapted for carrying outvarious processes and mechanisms in the exemplary methods describedfollowing.

The deduplication system 30 may implement a compiler 60 that allows anapplication program 58 written in a programming language such as COBOL,PL/1, C, C++, JAVA, ADA, BASIC, VISUAL BASIC or any other programminglanguage to be translated into code that is readable by the processor52. After completion, the computer program 58 accesses and manipulatesdata stored in the memory 56 of the system 30 using the relationshipsand logic that was generated using the compiler 60.

To further implement and execute mechanisms and processes according tothe present invention, OS 56, in conjunction with memory 54, processor52, program 58, and other computer processing, networking, and storagecomponents, may implement workers 64 as previously described processingchunks 62 of deduplicated data. As the skilled artisan will appreciate,the mechanisms of workers 64 and chunks 62 as presently illustrated maybe implemented in various forms and architectures. Accordingly, theillustration of workers 64 and chunks 62 in the present figure is againintended to demonstrate logical relationships between possible computingcomponents in the deduplication system 30, and not to imply a specificphysical structure or relationship.

In one embodiment, instructions implementing the operating system 56,the computer program 58, and the compiler 60, as well as the workers 64and chunks 62 are tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, whichmay include one or more fixed or removable data storage devices, such asa zip drive, disk, hard drive, DVD/CD-ROM, digital tape, SSDs, etc.Further, the operating system 56 and the computer program 58 compriseinstructions which, when read and executed by the system 30, cause thesystem 30 to perform the steps necessary to implement and/or use thepresent invention. Computer program 58 and/or operating system 56instructions may also be tangibly embodied in the memory 56 and/ortransmitted through or accessed by network 20 via various components(e.g., router 32, FIG. 1). As such, the terms “article of manufacture,”“program storage device” and “computer program product” as may be usedherein are intended to encompass a computer program accessible and/oroperable from any computer readable device or media.

Embodiments of the present invention may include one or more associatedsoftware application programs 58 that include, for example, functionsfor managing a distributed computer system comprising a network ofcomputing devices, such as a storage area network (SAN). Accordingly,processor 52 may comprise one or more storage management processors(SMP). The program 58 may operate within a single computer and/ordeduplication system 30 or as part of a distributed computer systemcomprising a network of computing devices. The network may encompass oneor more computers connected via a local area network and/or Internetconnection (which may be public or secure, e.g. through a virtualprivate network (VPN) connection), or via a fibre channel SAN or otherknown network types as will be understood by those skilled in the art.(Note that a fibre channel SAN is typically used only for computers tocommunicate with storage systems, and not with each other.)

The mechanisms of the illustrated embodiments may be adapted tosimultaneously accommodate a variety of limit specifications of variousdimensions and types, which have one common attribute in that they areall measured in time. Each measurement is determined by its respectivelimit (e.g., bytes processed are determined by B/sec limit). Also, themeasurements are translated to their respective debt (or credit) and thealgorithm normalizes the whole vector of debts to a single delay timeparameter. Whenever a particular chunk reported by a single workercreates too much debt (regardless which measure created the debt), theworker abstains from further processing according to the calculateddelay time.

In one of the illustrated embodiments, the various limit types arecredited within each time unit (e.g. second). An abstract “bank account”cannot accumulate credit. In other words, the new credit must be spentimmediately to cover the debt accumulated due to the workers'processing. There is a maximum debt allowed; if the maximum debt isreached the workers are held until enough credit is accumulated to coverthe deviation from the maximum. Practically, the credits may becalculated when the worker reports in, based on the previous debts andthe time elapsed.

As a result, the mechanisms of the present invention enable to achievehighly efficient deduplicated data processing, addressing the variousconsiderations for deduplicated data processing rate efficiencydescribed previously. For example, as an initial matter, thededuplicated data processing rate of the illustrated embodiments may becontrolled over various dimensions within every calculation unitsimultaneously. The deduplicated data processing rate may be controlledover virtual layer dimensions, i.e., dimensions that cannot betranslated to a physical measurement using a simple function due todeduplication. The mechanisms of the illustrated embodiments operate ina parallel processing environment that may be extended to a distributedenvironment. The deduplicated data processing rate control may beadaptive to online (dynamic) change. The limits can change during thededuplicated data processing procedure given altering effects in theenvironment. Finally, the mechanisms' retroactive attributes enable themechanisms to retain independence to a particular storage layout,hardware specification, and latency and bandwidth requirements.

As mentioned briefly above, the illustrated embodiments are adapted tosimultaneously accommodate a vector of limit specifications of variousdimensions and types within each calculation step. Again, these variousdimensional limits share a common attribute, as they are all defined pertime units. In order to facilitate such accommodation, several constantsand vectored types may be defined together with the operations permittedon them, as will be now described.

As an initial matter, a vector {right arrow over (M)} may be defined torepresent the various dimensions corresponding to the various limits.This vector's length is ∥{right arrow over (M)}∥. The {right arrow over(M)} vector is utilized for several uses in the mechanisms of theillustrated embodiments. For example, the workers use {right arrow over(M)} to report their sample of the various dimensions' values afterprocessing each chunk of the deduplicated data. Additionally, the vectoris used to hold the current debt (inversed credit) accumulated duringthe runtime of the mechanisms. Moreover, the vector is further used tocalculate the automatic elapsed credit gained since the last workerupdate, (e.g., report).

Another use of {right arrow over (M)} vector is to serve the algorithmin defining the maximum debt to be accumulated during operation of themechanisms. This max debt concept defines the cutoff vector values,which, in case the debt values exceed them (at least one value), themechanisms adjust the data processing rate by instructing the workercausing the excess to delay itself, and by this adapt to the specifiedlimits. In effect, the max debt vector behaves as a virtual window ofmeasurement, (i.e., the smaller the window is, the more sensitive it isto change). In addition, {right arrow over (M)} is used to define alimits-per-time unit vector. The limits are defined per a unified timeunit common to all dimensions for simplicity. A {right arrow over (0)}constant vector with zero values is also defined and used to evaluatenon-zero delta values.

The vector operations on {right arrow over (M)} vectors, whichfacilitate the algorithm: addition, subtraction, equality, assignment,and setting of a single dimension element, are defined as standardmathematical notation for vector operations, except for subtraction,which is defined to reset a dimension to zero value, when it issubtracted below zero, since all types are non-negative. Given limitsper time unit vector and an elapsed time measurement, one can calculatea corresponding elapsed credit vector using scalar-vectormultiplication. This is useful to the exact calculation of the debtvector within each worker's report.

Given some {right arrow over (M)} x and limits per time unit vectors,one can calculate the maximum delay time needed to clear x under thelimits vector. This step is necessary to determine the required delaytime for the worker due to the leftover debt vector within each worker'sreport. Since all limit dimensions are assumed to be dependent on timeunits, the mechanisms use a Sleep( ) function in order to delay theworkers at runtime. Note that whenever the worker delays its executionusing this function, its rate is effectively reduced so as the wholesystem's overall rate.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a method 70 for deduplicated data processing ratecontrol for one or more workers processing chunks of deduplicated datais illustrated. In one embodiment, method 70 may be implemented usingdeduplication system 30 (FIGS. 1 and 2) components, or various otherprocessing, networking, and storage components in computingenvironments. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, various stepsin the method 70 may be implemented in differing ways to suit aparticular application. In addition, the described method may beimplemented by various means, such as hardware, software, firmware, or acombination thereof operational on or otherwise associated with thecomputing environment. For example, the method 70 may be implemented,partially or wholly, as a computer program product including acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codeportions stored therein. The computer-readable storage medium mayinclude disk drives, flash memory, digital versatile disks (DVDs),compact disks (CDs), and other types of storage mediums as has beenpreviously described.

Method 70 begins (step 74) with the completion of an initializationprocess (step 72). As part of this initialization, a maximum allowedsleep time is set to S. This value is defined since the mechanismsutilize delays using sleep. However, S may also be infinite. Initialvalues for a last update time (to) and a current debt vector (D) arealso set. Limits per time unit and maximum debt (max debt) vectors areset to L and A accordingly. In light of initialization step 72, notethat all time measurements are normalized to a single, common time unit.In one embodiment, for example, all time measurements are normalized tothe time unit that is the least common denominator for all limitdimensions. In addition, the current debt vector is initialized withlarge values in order to avoid an initial peak behavior. This peakbehavior occurs due to a discontinuity at beginning of runtime.

As a following step, the current system time value is retrieved. In oneembodiment, a function is assumed that retrieves the current time, suchas GetCurrentTime( ) pursuant to a sample vector (block 76). Using thisfunction, an elapsed time since the last update time may be calculated,and the last update time may then be updated (step 78). Any new creditaccumulated in the elapsed time since the last update time is updated(step 82) pursuant to the constraints of the limits per time vector(block 80). In one embodiment, to facilitate step 82, a function such asGetCurrentRateLimitsPerTime( ) may be assumed that retrieves the limitsper time unit vector and max debt vectors relevant to this point intime. The limits per time unit and max debt vectors may be determinedpursuant to an environment external to the mechanisms of the presentinvention. For example, the external environment may define variouscriteria in view of factors such as a changing system load and/or userintervention. These factors may serve to determine a variety ofdiffering limits.

As a following step, the sample vector is added to the current debtvector, and the previously calculated elapsed credit is subtracted fromthe result to achieve the updated debt vector of the processing system(step 84). This subtraction is implemented as described previously, suchthat it leaves the result non-negative (i.e., each negative value in theresulting vector is reset to zero). The current max debt (block 86) issubtracted from the current debt, and the result is saved in a deltavector (step 88). If the delta is a zero vector (decision 90), then themethod 70 ends (step 96), as no leftover debt is calculated that wouldnecessitate a processing delay, as will be further described.

If however, the delta is non-zero (i.e., an amount of debt is calculatednecessitating system delay) (again, decision 90), then the method 70calculates the required delay (e.g., sleep time) (step 92). If thepreviously calculated delta is non-zero, this indicates that leftoverdebt due to the new sample exists (despite the elapsed credit), so theparticular worker should be delayed. In view of decision 90, it shouldbe noted that, in one embodiment, the sleep time may be calculated bytaking a maximum sleep time calculated for each limit dimension. Bytaking a maximum value, the method ensures a “best-fit” delay accordingto the leftover debt. The delay may be then checked against the maxsleep time set at initialization (again, step 72) and reducedaccordingly.

Once the required sleep time is calculated, then a function such asSleep( ) may be implemented to delay a worker by a certain value ofsleepTime, and thus, adjust the system's data-flow rate according to thespecified limits (step 94). In other words the Sleep( ) functionenables, to prevent data processing until the limits are satisfied. Themethod then ends (step 96). Note that the entire method 70 (except forthe Sleep( ) function) may be adapted to be operable in mutualexclusion. This is due to the parallel operating characteristics ofworkers. Without this mutual exclusion, the workers could haveoverridden the parameters to one another, leading to possible negativeeffects on the rate control.

Turning now to FIG. 4, following, a first exemplary graph 100 ofdeduplicated data processing rate control is illustrated. Graph 100depicts an exemplary implementation of method 70 (FIG. 3) with anaccompanying single dimensional rate limit of 1 MB/ms. In theillustrated example, a parallel environment is configured with eight (8)workers. Each worker reports one hundred (100) chunks of somededuplicated data processing (in Bytes). As observed, after an initialadaptation, the mechanisms of the present invention adjust the overallsystem rate to be closely limited by the given limit (as seen by thecorrelation of the dotted line representing the rate limit, and thesolid line representing the rate controlled). Note, in the illustratedexample, the max debt was configured to be 16 MB.

An additional example of implementing method 70 (again, FIG. 3), butwith multiple dimensional rate limits is illustrated in FIG. 5,following, by graph 110. In the illustrated example, a parallelenvironment is configured, again with eight (8) workers, each reporting25 chunks of some deduplicated data processing in two dimensionsincluding nominal and physical representations in Bytes. In this case,the physical rate limit is set to 20 KB/msec, while the nominal ratelimit is set to 80 KB/msec. In contrast to the physical representations,the nominal rate limits are taken as 20 MB and 80 MB, respectively. Notethe two horizontal segments of the graph 100 denoted as segments (I) and(II), respectively, separated with vertical dotted lines. In segment(I), the system's rate limit is controlled using the nominal dimension.Note that the physical rate does not require adjustments and is leftuntouched. In the segment (II), the opposite occurs, and the ratecontrol mechanisms use the physical dimension to limit the workers.

Finally, turning to FIG. 6, following, exemplary pseudo code of anexemplary implementation of deduplicated data processing rate controlmechanisms is shown. The skilled artisan will appreciate that variousportions of the pseudo code follow the methodologies previouslydescribed in FIG. 3. For example, lines 3-4 relate to the initializationstep previously described, lines 7-9 relate to the calculation of theelapsed time and the updating of the last update time, lines 12-13relate to the update of the new credit accumulated in the elapsed time,line 16 relates to the process of adding the sample to the current debtand subtraction of the new elapsed credit, and lines 19-29 relate to thecalculation of the delta vector, the determination of whether the vectoris non zero, and the implementation of a delay pursuant to thecalculation of the minimum sleep time. Here again, the skilled artisanwill appreciate that the pseudo code in FIG. 6 may vary depending on aparticular implementation.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wired, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing. Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspectsof the present invention may be written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languageor similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirelyon the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, orother devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed onthe computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce acomputer implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the above figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

While one or more embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated in detail, the skilled artisan will appreciate thatmodifications and adaptations to those embodiments may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as set forth in thefollowing claims.

1. A method for deduplicated data processing rate control using at leastone processor device in a computing environment, the method comprising:configuring a plurality of workers for parallel processing ofdeduplicated data entities in a plurality of chunks; and regulating adeduplicated data processing rate using a rate control mechanism, therate control mechanism incorporating a debt/credit algorithm specifyingwhich of the plurality of workers processing the deduplicated dataentities must wait for each of a plurality of calculated required sleeptimes
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the rate control mechanism isadapted to limit a data flow rate based on a penalty acquired during alast processing of one of the plurality of chunks in a retroactivemanner, and further adapted to operate on at least one vectorrepresentation of at least one limit specification to accommodate avariety of available dimensions corresponding to the at least one limitspecification.
 3. The method of claim 1, further including defining theat least one vector representation to represent the variety of availabledimensions corresponding to the at least one limit specification.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, further including, pursuant to defining the at leastone vector representation, defining a plurality of vector operations forthe at least one vector representation including addition, subtraction,equality, and assignment vector operations, wherein the subtractionvector operation is defined to reset to a zero value when subtractedbelow zero.
 5. The method of claim 4, further including, pursuant todefining the at least one vector representation, defining a zero vectorfor evaluating a non-zero delta vector of the at least one vectorrepresentation.
 6. The method of claim 5, further including, pursuant todefining the at least one vector representation, using the at least onevector representation to define a limits per time unit vector, whereinthe variety of available dimensions are commonly measured in a per timeunit corresponding to the limits per time unit vector.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, further including initializing the rate control mechanism byperforming at least one of: setting a maximum allowable sleep time toone of a predefined finite value and a predefined infinite value, andsetting initial values for a last update time, a current debt vector, alimits per time vector, and a maximum debt vector.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, further including, pursuant to regulating the deduplicated dataprocessing rate, performing at least one of: retrieving a current systemtime value, generating a sample vector as the at least one vectorrepresentation for the current system time value, using the currentsystem time value, calculating an elapsed time credit since the lastupdate time, and updating the last update time.
 9. The method of claim8, further including, pursuant to regulating the deduplicated dataprocessing rate, performing at least one of: adding the sample vector tothe current debt vector and subtracting the elapsed time credit toobtain an updated debt vector, subtracting the maximum debt vector fromthe current debt vector to obtain a delta vector.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further including, pursuant to regulating the deduplicated dataprocessing rate, if the delta vector is non-zero, calculating a requiredsleep time as a best fit between the maximum allowable sleep time, thedelta vector, and the limit per time vector, wherein the required sleeptime is one of the plurality of calculated required sleep times.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further including refraining from processing thededuplicated data entities pursuant to the required sleep time.
 12. Asystem for deduplicated data processing rate control in a computingenvironment, the method comprising: at least one processor deviceoperable in the computing environment, wherein the at least oneprocessor device is adapted for: configuring a plurality of workers forparallel processing of deduplicated data entities in a plurality ofchunks, and regulating a deduplicated data processing rate using a ratecontrol mechanism, the rate control mechanism incorporating adebt/credit algorithm specifying which of the plurality of workersprocessing the deduplicated data entities must wait for each of aplurality of calculated required sleep times; wherein: the rate controlmechanism is adapted to limit a data flow rate based on a penaltyacquired during a last processing of one of the plurality of chunks in aretroactive manner, and the rate control mechanism is further adapted tooperate on at least one vector representation of at least one limitspecification to accommodate a variety of available dimensionscorresponding to the at least one limit specification.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the at least one processor device is further adaptedfor defining the at least one vector representation to represent thevariety of available dimensions corresponding to the at least one limitspecification.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least oneprocessor device is further adapted for, pursuant to defining the atleast one vector representation, defining a plurality of vectoroperations for the at least one vector representation includingaddition, subtraction, equality, and assignment vector operations,wherein the subtraction vector operation is defined to reset to a zerovalue when subtracted below zero.
 15. The system of claim 14, whereinthe at least one processor device is further adapted for, pursuant todefining the at least one vector representation, defining a zero vectorfor evaluating a non-zero delta vector of the at least one vectorrepresentation.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least oneprocessor device is further adapted for, pursuant to defining the atleast one vector representation, using the at least one vectorrepresentation to define a limits per time unit vector, wherein thevariety of available dimensions are commonly measured in a per time unitcorresponding to the limits per time unit vector.
 17. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the at least one processor device is further adaptedfor initializing the rate control mechanism by performing at least oneof: setting a maximum allowable sleep time to one of a predefined finitevalue and a predefined infinite value, and setting initial values for alast update time, a current debt vector, a limits per time vector, and amaximum debt vector.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at leastone processor device is further adapted for, pursuant to regulating thededuplicated data processing rate, performing at least one of:retrieving a current system time value, generating a sample vector asthe at least one vector representation for the current system timevalue, using the current system time value, calculating an elapsed timecredit since the last update time, and updating the last update time.19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor device isfurther adapted for, pursuant to regulating the deduplicated dataprocessing rate, performing at least one of: adding the sample vector tothe current debt vector and subtracting the elapsed time credit toobtain an updated debt vector, subtracting the maximum debt vector fromthe current debt vector to obtain a delta vector.
 20. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the at least one processor device is further adaptedfor, pursuant to regulating the deduplicated data processing rate, ifthe delta vector is non-zero, calculating a required sleep time as abest fit between the maximum allowable sleep time, the delta vector, andthe limit per time vector, wherein the required sleep time is one of theplurality of calculated required sleep times.
 21. The system of claim20, wherein the at least one processor device is further adapted forrefraining from processing the deduplicated data entities pursuant tothe required sleep time.
 22. The system of claim 12, wherein a first ofthe plurality of workers is configured to be locally operable to processone of the deduplicated data entities, and a second of the plurality ofworkers is configured to be remotely operable to process the one of thededuplicated data entities.
 23. The system of claim 12, wherein firstand second workers of the plurality of workers are configured to beoperable to process one of the deduplicated data entities.
 24. Acomputer program product for deduplicated data processing rate controlusing at least one processor device in a computing environment, thecomputer program product comprising a computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable program code portions stored therein, thecomputer-readable program code portions comprising: a first executableportion for configuring a plurality of workers for parallel processingof deduplicated data entities in a plurality of chunks; and a secondexecutable portion for regulating a deduplicated data processing rateusing a rate control mechanism, the rate control mechanism incorporatinga debt/credit algorithm specifying which of the plurality of workersprocessing the deduplicated data entities must wait for each of aplurality of calculated required sleep times; wherein: the rate controlmechanism is adapted to limit a data flow rate based on a penaltyacquired during a last processing of one of the plurality of chunks in aretroactive manner, and the rate control mechanism is further adapted tooperate on at least one vector representation of at least one limitspecification to accommodate a variety of available dimensionscorresponding to the at least one limit specification.
 25. The computerprogram product of claim 24, further including a third executableportion for defining the at least one vector representation to representthe variety of available dimensions corresponding to the at least onelimit specification.
 26. The computer program product of claim 25,further including a fourth executable portion for, pursuant to definingthe at least one vector representation, defining a plurality of vectoroperations for the at least one vector representation includingaddition, subtraction, equality, and assignment vector operations,wherein the subtraction vector operation is defined to reset to a zerovalue when subtracted below zero.
 27. The computer program product ofclaim 26, further including a fifth executable portion for, pursuant todefining the at least one vector representation, defining a zero vectorfor evaluating a non-zero delta vector of the at least one vectorrepresentation.
 28. The computer program product of claim 27, furtherincluding a sixth executable portion for, pursuant to defining the atleast one vector representation, using the at least one vectorrepresentation to define a limits per time unit vector, wherein thevariety of available dimensions are commonly measured in a per time unitcorresponding to the limits per time unit vector.
 29. The computerprogram product of claim 26, further including a seventh executableportion for initializing the rate control mechanism by performing atleast one of: setting a maximum allowable sleep time to one of apredefined finite value and a predefined infinite value, and settinginitial values for a last update time, a current debt vector, a limitsper time vector, and a maximum debt vector.
 30. The computer programproduct of claim 29, further including an eighth executable portion for,pursuant to regulating the deduplicated data processing rate, performingat least one of: retrieving a current system time value, generating asample vector as the at least one vector representation for the currentsystem time value, using the current system time value, calculating anelapsed time credit since the last update time, and updating the lastupdate time.
 31. The computer program product of claim 30, furtherincluding a ninth executable portion for, pursuant to regulating thededuplicated data processing rate, performing at least one of: addingthe sample vector to the current debt vector and subtracting the elapsedtime credit to obtain an updated debt vector, subtracting the maximumdebt vector from the current debt vector to obtain a delta vector. 32.The computer program product of claim 31, further including a tenthexecutable portion for, pursuant to regulating the deduplicated dataprocessing rate, if the delta vector is non-zero, calculating a requiredsleep time as a best fit between the maximum allowable sleep time, thedelta vector, and the limit per time vector, wherein the required sleeptime is one of the plurality of calculated required sleep times.
 33. Thecomputer program product of claim 32, further including an eleventhexecutable portion for refraining from processing the deduplicated dataentities pursuant to the required sleep time.